The first of Northern’s Pacer trains to retire made its final journey today after travelling more than 3 million miles in 32 years of service.
The train, unit 142005, entered service on 20 February 1987 and bowed out today out after completing its final day of operation by carrying Northern customers between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.
The much maligned train is due to be completely phased out by the end, replaced by 101 brand new trains, of which fifteen are already in service, but there are already doubts as to whether that target can be met.
The new trains are being introduced on longer-distance routes, allowing existing trains on those routes to be redeployed and replace the retiring Pacers.
Northern has admitted that some of its Pacer trains will be used in South Yorkshire next year, despite a pledge to remove them and The Department for Transport said in July the Pacers would continue to be used “due to delays in manufacturing new trains”.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “I am delighted to see the start of the Pacer trains retiring from the Northern network. This is a milestone moment for passengers in the north, as part of our commitment to delivering more comfortable, frequent and reliable journeys.
“We are now starting to see brand new, comfortable, modern trains in their place, alongside the 2,000 extra services a week that have already been delivered.”
David Brown, Managing Director at Northern, said: “The Northern network is busier than it has been for a generation – more than 100 million customer journeys will be made on Northern services in 2019 – and the introduction of new trains and the retirement of the Pacers is at the heart of our transformation for customers.
“We have 15 brand new trains carrying customers, with 91 more to come throughout 2019 and into 2020. In all, we will introduce 101 new trains, a £500m investment in rail in the North. These fantastic new trains will give our customers a genuine step-change in journey experience.”
The Pacers were built in the 1980s from the body of a bus frame and intended to have a maximum lifespan of 20 years. They have been dubbed “buses on wheels”.
A further six are being taken out of daily service and will be stored at one of Northern’s depots. They will be maintained so they could be made available to use if required in exceptional circumstances, such as for special events.
